Hollywood mobsters helping mom-and-pop theaters

The Associated Press

January 11, 2013 10:03 AM

The Associated Press

January 11, 2013 10:03 AM

Some of Hollywood's big-name mobsters are helping save small-town theaters.

Stars from "The Sopranos" and "Goodfellas" are joining forces with Save America's Cinemas - a Florida-based non-profit fundraising group - on Friday in Miami Beach for a PowerBall-like drawing to see which theater will receive the first digital transfer.

Walter T. Shaw, a notorious jewel thief from the 1960s and 1970s started the group to help mom-and-pop theaters. The switch from 35 mm film to digital has forced many small theaters to close, while others have taken out loans to cover the cost of new equipment - an average of $70,000 per screen.

Among the celebrities expected to attend are Tony (Paulie Walnuts) Sirico and Vincent (Big Pussy) Pastore of "The Sopranos" and Mike Starr and Debi Mazar from "Goodfellas."